


Into the Red Sun

by magnoliafilms



Category: ENHYPEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Animal Death, Blood and Injury, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Vampire Covens, Wolf Pack, bear traps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27805999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnoliafilms/pseuds/magnoliafilms
Summary: Something howls in the woods, low and rasping. An animal in pain.An easy snack.But this one won't go so easily.
Relationships: Park Sunghoon/Shim Jaeyoon | Jake
Comments: 12
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of a very late night decision to begin another vampire au. (Yes it's my brand, complain about it somewhere else.) Please mind the tags, they may change in the future as this updates.  
> Title is from Given-Taken by Enhypen.

It’s dark out.

Something howls in the woods, low and rasping. An animal in pain. 

He shouldn’t be here. 

Should have listened to Heeseung. Should have taken his advice.

“ _ Never stray too close to the forest, Jake. Not on a full moon. There’s things in there you can’t fight off with your fangs.” _

And yet here he is. Running. He’s always running these days. Something unseen follows behind him, and he gasps for breath he knows he doesn’t need. 

He’s silent as he moves through the trees, save for the dull thudding of his feet as they land heavily. If it’s wolves on his tail, he’ll need to be a hell of a lot quieter than he’s being right now.

He slows, slams his shoulder into a tree and glances around himself anxiously. His fingers scratch at the bark of the tree, and if he had blood to spare, he knows it’d be pooling under his nail beds.

The creature howls again. Slower this time. Sickeningly human. 

_ It’s just the forest, Jake. _ He grits his teeth and tells himself,  _ It’s playing tricks on you. _

There’s blood on the wind. He can taste it, and the metallic scent fills his head. His fangs pop out before he can stop them. 

Another howl. Broken this time. A call for help.

He’s hungry. Hasn’t fed on another living creature in weeks. 

At least, that’s what he tells himself as he pushes off the tree and throws himself back into a steady rhythm. 

A wounded animal. An easy snack. 

He can feel the bloodlust overpowering every other emotion. Gone is the fear, the paranoia. Gone is the rational, the common sense. 

His fangs pulse, a hefty reminder of what he’s setting out to do. 

He’s close. Can feel it in the way the air shifts. He’s always been fast, but now his feet move with inhuman speed. 

He smells it before he sees it. Before he hears it. 

He pushes through the treeline, and stands before it. Fearless, hungry, as much an animal as the thing that lies helpless before him. 

It whimpers, tugs on the chains that hold it in place. His eyes drop to the source of the bloody smell. 

It’s been caught. A thick bear trap clamps around it’s hind leg, tearing through muscle and flesh. Jake’s almost certain he can see the solid white surface of a bone. It’s a mess really, and it’s a wonder the bone hasn’t been snapped in half. 

If he weren’t so hungry, Jake thinks he might have been sick. 

The thing whimpers. It’s fur is matted with a mix of sweat and blood and he frowns at the state of it.

It’s large for a wolf. Lean and muscular in all the right places, but the build is bigger, snout and paws a little disproportionate.

It whines, a low sound that shakes something in Jake’s chest. 

He moves forward. The beast at least deserves a swift death. He decides that he’ll free it, then drain it dry. Better that then let it bleed to death on some hunters trap in the middle of the forest. 

But as he takes a step near the thing, it growls, deep and threatening.

_ Do not step any closer. _ It seems to say. 

He tries to move behind it, to approach the trap. But the thing swings its head, eyes locked on his own. The beast will not be caught off guard. 

He tries to run at it, to utilise that superhuman speed he’s gotten so good at using. But the thing isn’t fooled, it matches each of his movements with it’s own defensive posturing. 

The wolf growls, a threatening sound that cuts off halfway, turns into a pained whine. The chains attached to the trap clink against each other. 

Jake sighs, his fangs feel heavy in his mouth.

He puts two hands out in front of him and slowly steps towards the wolf.

“I’m going to set you free.” He says evenly, never lifting his gaze from where he meets the eyes of the wolf.

The wolf growls again, though this time, the sound is more subdued. The wolf sits, tucking its front paws beneath him like some large dog. Jake frowns, but moves closer all the same. 

The beast’s muscles are tensed, and Jake knows that it’s ready to turn and bite his head off in a heartbeat. As he moves closer, he can feel his hunger dissipating. He feels exposed, afraid. The loss of adrenaline gives way to everything that was held back. 

He takes a sudden step away from the wolf and it snarls, narrowing its eyes at him.

If he does nothing else this evening, he will at least set this creature free.

He makes it to where the trap holds tightly onto the wolf’s hind leg. It’s a simple spring operated mechanism, something he can open in a heartbeat. The only issue is the beast he’s dealing with. 

“I don’t know if you can understand me–” The beast growls slowly, and he decides that that means it does, “But I’m going to undo this thing. It’s going to hurt, but I’ll try my best to be gentle.”

He puts his hands on either side of the trap and the beast shifts as though moving to run away. But the sound of metal against metal and the scraping of the trap against its bone seems to deter it. 

When he manages to get the jaws of the trap open, the beast pulls it’s leg free immediately. Moves away from him to the otherside of the small clearing they’ve found themselves in.

The beast lets out another low noise, but once more it’s cut short by a whine. It sinks to its front legs and Jake watches as it’s great coat is wracked with spasms. 

He backs away. Something is wrong. 

The wolf writhes on the ground. It whimpers, quietly now, as though trying to suppress the sound. It keeps it’s eyes trained on Jake, never letting him leave it’s sight. The gaping wound on it’s leg still bleeds, and Jake feels his fangs aching. Even in this state, the beast could still kill him. 

Perhaps trapped, he would have stood a chance, but the beast moves with the purpose of an injured animal. It will not go quietly. 

It drops to the ground once more, front paws giving out as another spasm wracks it’s enormous body. 

Jake starts forward, but the beast snarls at him, snaps its teeth. It’s gums are bleeding, and Jake wonders how long it had been trying to free itself before he found it. 

He watches in horror as something shifts under the beast’s pelt. Pushes up at the matted fur and stretches like some kind of skin eating parasite. The beast jolts, and then it’s shrinking. Jake blinks, rubs at his eyes to make sure he isn’t seeing things. 

He knows he should go. Should turn and get his ass out of the damn forest. But there's something that doesn’t quite sit right with him about leaving the injured creature to fend for itself.

Instead, he stands guard as the thing shakes. It’s whines have turned gravelly. Have sunk to the back of it’s throat. Cripplingly human. 

Jake knows he’s in deep shit when the fur flattens, when it turns leathery and skin-like. He’s messing with forces he doesn’t understand, and he knows that he’s putting himself in danger simply by watching a transformation like this.

Heeseung taught him about Weres. He knew that the forest was riddled with different packs, you could hear their fights from the coven house. 

But he’d never seen one so close. The animal shakes again as it sheds the last of it’s wolflike traits. Snout flattening out into a defined jaw and a slender nose. 

Jake looks up. The full moon is still out, beams of it’s light shine down, opaque and glittery.  _ So why is this wolf turning back _ .

Jake returns his attention to the wolf.  _ Boy _ . It’s a boy now, and a naked one at that. So shockingly human as he lies on the dusty forest floor, pine needles sticking to his exposed skin. He curls into himself, leaving his wounded leg outstretched. 

Taking a closer look at the boy’s leg, Jake can see that the wound isn’t nearly as severe as it was in wolf form. But it’s a deep enough gash that the boy won’t be able to stand on it, let alone run. 

He takes a step forward, hands moving to unbutton his shirt. He can tear the bottom off, use it to wrap the wound, at least until he can find the Were some help. The rest he can give to the boy to cover himself. 

Another step, and the boy whips his head around.

“ _ Stay away from me, _ ” He snarls, drawing his arms up beneath him.

Jake puts his hands out in front of him, the top half of his shirt undone. “I’m only trying to help you,” He says evenly, though his brain is racing through a million different scenarios in which he gets mauled to death at the end of every one.

“ _ I don’t need your help, _ ” The boy hisses again. There’s traces of tears in his eyes, and he winces whenever he shifts his leg too much. 

“You’re going to bleed to death if you don’t let me help.” Jake keeps his hands where the Were can see them and takes another step. “I can find someone to bandage you up, but we aren’t going to get anywhere with your leg like that.”

The boy says nothing, watches him a predatory gaze. But when Jake takes another step, he says nothing. Doesn’t even flinch. 

Jake pulls off what’s left of his shirt, tears the bottom half off and kneels beside the boy. He drapes the top half of the shirt over the boy’s midsection, trying to give him what little privacy he can offer. 

Then, he gets to work on tying the wound.

It’s difficult. The skin around the area is red raw and bloodied, and the actual slice itself is still bleeding heavily. 

It’s a messy job, but it’s putting enough pressure on the gash that it should stop the bleeding. Heeseung didn’t teach him first aid for nothing. 

The Were looks as though he’s about to lash out at any second, and he swallows his fear like a great big lump in his throat. The boy growls, and Jake knows that’s his cue to back away. 

The boy presses up off the ground, sitting upright.

A howl cuts through the air. The boy jumps, his eyes narrow and his ears twitch. 

“Are they coming to help you?” Jake asks, pushing upwards and dusting off his pants. If a wolf pack is on it’s way, he really shouldn’t be sticking around to get caught by any of them.

The boy grits his teeth. “ _ They _ aren’t mine. Someone else is coming.”

It’s the first time Jake has seen the boy seem so afraid. It’s in the way his body has gone rigid that even Jake’s presence couldn’t cause. 

“And that’s bad?” He infers, glancing into the shadows behind the treeline. 

“ _ Bad _ ,” The boy snarls, “Doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

He pushes up off the ground, tucking his good leg beneath him, and flinching when his injured one meets the ground. 

“Can you shift back?” Jake asks, watching the pained way the Were moves. He’s met with a pair of cold eyes.

“If I could shift back, I would have done it a long time ago,  _ Bat Boy _ .”

Jake hisses at the nickname. 

“Then let me help you.” he says instead, moving forwards too quickly. 

The Were glares at him, “Don’t touch me.”

Jake rolls his eyes, confident in the fact that he has the upper hand in this situation. “You’re hurt, if you’re trying to get away, you won’t make it far like this.”

There’s another howl. Closer this time, and Jake can hear the faintest sound of paws moving through the forest. There’s more than one, and they’re moving in. 

He knows that the boy can hear it too. His shoulders are tense as he ties the shirt around his waist and his hands curl into each other tightly when they hang by sides. He hesitates. Takes in an impossible breath.

“Let me help you.” Jake says again. He’s not sure why he’s still here, where this desire to help a wounded creature came from. It would be so much easier to turn tail, to leave this Were to deal with his own business. 

But he knows that running away now isn’t an option. He puts out a hand, presses it against the boy’s upper arm. 

The Were jumps away, glares at him with a deep sense of hatred and distrust brewing in his gaze. But after a moment, he nods. 

“Ok,” he says, and it seems that internally he’s beating himself up over this decision.

“I’ll carry you,” Jake says. He’s stronger than he looks and he knows the boy will be easier to carry now that he’s in human form. He’ll be slower with the added weight, but faster than if they were to walk side by side. 

The boy snorts incredulously, “You think you can outrun a pack of wolves, while holding  _ me.” _

Jake sighs, shakes his arms out, “I think that I can try. I just need to get you out of the forest. Then we’re in coven territory.”

The boy shudders as though it’s only just now registering what that actually means. Were’s aren’t tolerated in coven territory, it’s an unspoken law. Cross the border, and you’re free game for any vamp that’s lucky enough to find you.

Another howl shakes the trees and Jake knows that if they don’t go now, the pack will be upon them in no time. 

Jake scoops up the boy, giving him no time to protest. If he wants to complain, he can do it when they’re away from the new wolf pack.

They move through the trees. His muscles scream, but he keeps moving forwards. There’s pounding steps behind him, and occasionally, he hears the snarling sound of teeth clashing. 

He can see the break in the treeline, it’s only a few metres ahead. He won’t turn his head, won’t acknowledge the threat that’s practically snapping at his heels.

The boy holds onto him tightly, and he gasps when Jake nearly trips over a loose root. He rights himself quickly enough, paying more attention to where he puts his feet. 

There’s another howl, and this time it sounds as though it’s coming from right behind them. He pushes forwards, using what’s left of his energy to propel them out of the treeline, across the dirt path that lines the forest and onto the grass on the other side. 

He collapses in a heap, drops to his knees with the Were still held tightly in his arms. 

When he looks up, he’s glad he didn’t turn before. 

Lining the edge of the forest is a wolf pack. Small by most accounts, only eight members, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in size. The smallest wolf Jake can see has to be at least two hands taller than the boy he holds now. 

The pack alpha stands in the middle glaring down at them both. His pelt shifts in that same way that the boy’s did before he transformed, and only moments later, a tall man stands before them.

“I didn’t realise the forest was part of coven territory.” The alpha says menacingly, “Last I checked it was wolves who ran the woods.”

Jake swallows thickly, trying to force down his fear. He says nothing, worried that the waver in his voice would give the pack reason to charge.

“Regardless,” The man says evenly with a cruel smile, “I think you have something of ours.”

Jake feels the boy tense up beside him and remembers his words from before.  _ They aren’t mine.  _ Was this the “someone else” he had been so afraid of.

Jake musters up what little courage he has left, “Really?” he says, raising an eyebrow, “Are you sure?”

The alpha narrows his eyes, staring down at him, “Don’t play games with me, boy. Give the wolf back. He belongs here, in the forest.”

Jake glances at the boy. They say nothing to each other, and yet, Jake can see the fear, the silent plea in the boy’s eyes.

He turns back to face the wolf pack. Plants his hands in the grass on his side of the border. 

“No.” He says firmly, “I don’t think I will.” 

He’s sitting just in front of the boy, putting just a little bit of extra distance between them and the pack. 

The alpha snarls, a violent sound that rattles around in Jake’s bones. Puts a foot a little too close to the boundary line. “You’re making a mistake,  _ boy. _ Do you really want a turf war on your hands because you were feeling a little  _ stubborn _ ?”

Jake shakes his head, “I’m granting him sanctuary, he’s meeting with the coven leader.”

It’s a blatant lie, something he’s one hundred percent certain he’s not  _ actually _ allowed to do. But the wolf backs down a little. Takes a step back.

Jake knows the entire pack can smell the blood from the boy's wound, but now that he’s “granted sanctuary,” there's nothing they can do. As far as they’re concerned, the Were is protected by covenant law. 

The alpha shakes his head, glares at Jake for a long moment. 

“Try stepping in  _ my _ forest again,  _ boy _ . I’ll show you what a wolf can do when he’s real mad.”

And then they’re gone, turning and racing back into the depths of the forest. Jake sighs a breath of relief and finally turns to face the boy. 

He sticks out a hand. 

The Were eyes it suspiciously, before reaching up to shake it with his own. 

“Name’s Jake.” he says slowly.

“Sunghoon.” The Were says. He’s still defensive, and doesn't fully trust him. 

Jake presses a finger to the bridge of his nose, “I’ve gotta call Heeseung.”

Sunghoon tenses up again, “Why?” he says quickly.

“I can’t carry you there, not after all of that.” he throws a thumb behind himself, pointing at the slowly creeping darkness of the sprawling forest.

Sunghoon relaxes a little, shakes out the tightness in his shoulder.

He watches closely as Jake pulls his phone out of his pocket. He’s lucky it isn’t shattered after the stunt he just pulled, lucky it’s even in his pocket at all.

He taps at the screen, clicks on the only contact saved in the entire log. 

It rings.

“Heeseung,” he says when the person on the other end picks up, “Don’t be mad at me… We’ve got a problem.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do mind the added tags, and I'm just adding an additional warning: There are depictions of a rabbit being killed and drained of blood in this chapter. To skip past it, move from "A rabbit is fast," to "He hadn’t thought himself a messy eater."
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's left comments on the first chapter!

The headlights of Heeseung’s old truck swing wide as he turns the corner, finally bringing the vehicle into view. He doesn’t cut the engine, only shoves the gear stick into park and slams the door open.

“What the  _ fuck _ were you thinking, Jake?” He hisses, voice low and menacing, eyes dark. “Risking your life for a fucking  _ Werewolf?” _

Jake frowns, “I couldn’t just leave him.”

Heeseung rolls his eyes and tosses a bundle of clothing at Sunghoon. “You’re ridiculous, Jake. And you’re lucky you aren’t fucking  _ dead _ .”

Jake turns away as Sunghoon pulls on the shorts and t-shirt Heeseung brought. 

“Why can’t you turn back?” Heeseung asks, glaring at Sunghoon. “Surely you could march back on in there and get the rest of your pack involved.”

Sunghoon shakes his head, “I can’t.” He lifts up his wounded leg, “Not like this. I’d be dead on my feet before I took two steps in there.”

“Hell,” Heeseung whispers under his breath, massaging a hand over his temples. He’s older than Jake by a good few centuries at least, and it really shows in moments like this. 

“Can you walk?” Heeseung eventually says sharply and Sunghoon nods, though Jake can see the hesitation in his eyes. “ _ Good _ . If you’re creating a threat for the coven, you better fucking make this worth our while.”

He turns away, leaving them to make their way to the car.

“Are you sure?” Jake whispers when Heeseung’s far enough away not to hear.

Sunghoon’s eyes narrow. “I’m  _ fine. _ I don’t need your  _ fucking _ help.”

Jake can’t do anything but watch as Sunghoon stumbles towards the truck. He favours his injured leg, hissing through his teeth with every step. 

Jake takes the front seat, choosing to keep his eyes out the front window. Through the wing mirror, he can Sunghoon resting his head against the backseat window.

It isn’t a long drive back to the coven house, maybe fifteen minutes at the most, but after a while, he hears the soft sound of Sunghoon’s breathing evening out. A sign he’s fallen asleep.

Heeseung hears it too. “What am I supposed to do with him, Jake? What do you think Jungwon’s going to say?”

Jake bites down on the inside of his cheek, but says nothing.

“I’m— For fucks sake, I’m the one responsible for you, Jake. When I tell you not to go in the fucking forest, it means don’t go in the fucking forest.”

“Where would we be if I didn’t?” Jake snaps, “He’d be dead in some hunters trap if I wasn’t there.”

Heeseung sucks in a sharp breath, when he finally opens his mouth to reply, he sounds exhausted. “We’d be back at the coven house, Jake. We’d be  _ safe _ . And we wouldn’t have a full blown turf war at our doorstep.  _ Why do you care about him so much _ ?”

Jake’s nose scrunches up as he thinks about it. He focuses on Sunghoon’s reflection in the wing mirror. He seems softer when he’s asleep, dark hair falling softly over a troubled forehead.

“I–“ Jake pauses, he’s not sure what he was going to say. He shakes his head, “I don’t know. I just don’t think he deserved to die like that. No one does.”

Heeseung laughs, a sad kind of sound that stays in the back of his throat. “You’re too good for this, Jake. Even after everything, and you can still say shit like that... “

Jake sighs, drops his head into his hands. “I’m not, Seung. I was gonna–” His voice drops into a low whisper, though he can hear Sunghoon’s sleeping heart, “I was gonna bite him. That’s why I was there in the first place.”

Heeseung hums. If he’s surprised, he doesn’t show it. Instead he glances over at Jake, “How long has it been since you last fed on something?”

Jake looks down. Heeseung knows that he doesn’t like drinking from living things. Knows that it hasn’t been long enough since his own heart beat the same. “A week… Or two?”

Time tends to blur together when your lifespan is infinitely extended. Jake’s still young by most standards. It’s been nearly twenty years since he was turned, and he doesn’t look a day over eighteen. 

“Right.” Heeseung says with a nod. He keeps his eyes on the road, and doesn’t say anything when he pulls off to the side. 

They’ve stopped beside a field. There’s long tussock growing and the cool early morning air pushes it around. The sky is becoming lighter, a clear indicator of how long they’ve been out. A reminder to get back to the coven house. 

Heeseung glances out at the open pasture. Then turns his eyes to the rearview mirror, eyeing Sunghoon’s sleeping form. Jake looks at him sideways.

“ _ What? _ ” Heeseung says defensively, “Go out there. Find yourself a rabbit or something. I promise I’m not gonna eat him while you’re gone.”

Jake hesitates and before he can say anything, Heeseung’s leaning across him to open the passenger door and gently pushing him out of the car. “I’ll be here when you’re done.” And then again, because Jake sometimes needs constant reminding, “I’m not gonna hurt him”

“Ok,” Jake says, voice barely above a whisper. He grounds his feet in the gravelly dirt they’ve stopped in. He closes his eyes, lifts his head and smells the air. There’s living things in the field. He can smell them, warm and earthy as they race through the long grass. Can hear their fragile hearts beating, pulsing in time with the one locked away in Sunghoon’s chest behind the truck doors. 

He blocks it out, focusing on what he can smell, what he can taste in the air. He takes off, running again for the second time in one evening. There’s the faint sound of pounding feet, and the grasses swish around his ankles. 

A rabbit is fast, but in twenty years, he’s learnt to be faster.

The chase is easy, and ends with a tawny coloured rabbit cornered against a dense clump of tussock. It squirms in his hands and squeals, likely scaring off any near enough to hear. Jake shuts his eyes when he snaps its neck. Keeps them shut when he brings it’s still-warm body to his mouth.

It’s blood is salty, and feels thick in his mouth. The sensation of his fur against his top lip is discomforting, and he’s disgusted with himself when he drains it completely dry of blood. 

He takes its body to the edge of the paddock. Lies it flat beneath a tussock, hoping that some creature will come and take it’s carcass away. He’d dig a small grave for it if he had time, but Heeseung’s waiting for him. He drags a hand over his mouth as he turns his back on the rabbit, cursing when he sees the amount of blood smeared around his lips. 

He hadn’t thought himself a messy eater, but perhaps that skill comes with more time spent feeding. He shudders when he feels warmth come to his cheeks. A simple after effect of the blood, already circulating in his system. 

He pushes it aside, heading back for the truck. He’s faster now, and hates that  _ that’s _ what it takes for him to be stronger. Hates that he has to take life in order to preserve his own. He hiccups, wipes away a single tear that’s formed. Wonders if that action —so small, so strangely human— is a byproduct of the blood.

Heeseung is leaning against the outside of the truck when he makes it back. There’s blood caked in the corner of his lips. Jake startles, tensing his shoulders and tilting his head to peer into the truck window.

“Calm down,” Heeseung says, rolling his eyes, “You scared a stoat over here, I just got a little peckish. Your Werewolf is fine.”

Jake relaxes a little. When he walks around the side of the truck to reach the passenger door, he notices Sunghoon’s breath clouding the glass of his window. The sound of Heeseung’s door slamming snaps him out of whatever strange daze he was in, and he climbs into the passenger seat, closing his door softly so not to wake Sunghoon.

It’s all in vain though, as when the truck roars to life, Sunghoon jumps, the sound waking him easily. 

Jake catches his eye in the rearview mirror and though Sunghoon is drowsy from sleep, he still glares back. He’s drawn into himself, shoulders hunched in and hands folded neatly in his lap. Jake can’t see his leg, but whenever the truck turns too quickly or catches on a stone in the gritty tarmac, flashes of pain shoot across his face. Twisting his pretty mouth into a barely concealed grimace. 

The road up to the coven house is unsealed, and loose gravel flicks up and pings against the sides of the truck. Sunghoon seems unsettled, staring out the window at the brightening sky. Jake squints his eyes at the light. Vamps aren’t flammable like he’d thought when he was a kid, but they sure do burn easily. There’s still scars on his legs from when he stayed out too long during the day when he was first turned.

Then, in a break through the trees, the house comes into view. 

Startling and gothic, it stands tall. It was Jungwon’s family house when he was a child, and he inherited the property before he was turned. The exact legalities of the house are... Marginal. To say the least.

Sunghoon shifts in his seat, and Jake hears the sharp intake of breath when he jostles his wounded leg.

“Calm down.” Heeseung says, though not unkindly as he parks the truck out the front. He turns in his seat to make eye contact with Sunghoon. “What’s your name?”

“Sunghoon.” Jake helpfully fills in while Sunghoon does the same. He’s shot a wildly threatening glance from the second party, and Jake takes that as his cue to shut up. 

“Look Sunghoon,” Heeseung begins, “I don’t know how things work in your pack, but Jungwon is kinda the ‘top dog’ around here.” He snorts at his own joke. Sunghoon does not look impressed. “I warned him that you were coming.”

Jake glances at him sharply. “You did? When?”

Heeseung keeps his eyes on Sunghoon, “When we stopped in the field.” He brushes over this fact quickly, “Jungwon will decide whether you can stay. So be goddamn polite unless you want your ass handed to you.”

Sunghoon nods and casts his eyes out the window towards the house. Heeseung is the first to get out of the car, setting off without either of them and crossing the courtyard silently. 

Jake stays behind, and opens the door for Sunghoon. Sunghoon glares at him and avoids the hand he is offered. When they begin the long walk towards the front door, Jake stays behind Sunghoon, watching as he favours his injured leg.

Heeseung stands by the front door, and watches them for a moment, before disappearing inside. 

It’s then that Sunghoon falls. He drops to the ground, having tripped on a loose stone. He curses under his breath and Jake crouches down beside him.

“ _ Let me help you _ .” He says firmly.

Sunghoon says nothing. Only sets his mouth in a firm line and accepts the hand that Jake offers him. His palms are grazed from the fall, and Jake feels his fangs begin to throb inside his gums from the sensation of Sunghoon’s blood against his own palms.

Sunghoon is injured, making it easier to stop him from running away. It would be so easy to pin him down. Jake imagines drinking so deeply that Sunghoon is left gasping for breath, clinging to life by a single thread. For a moment, he wonders if wolf blood tastes any different to a human’s. 

The morning sun kisses at the exposed skin at the back of Jake’s neck, and he tugs at his shirt collar uncomfortably, trying —and failing— to cover up any skin he can. 

Jake’s unbeating heart feels heavy in his chest. He feels sick at the thought, and swallows down the bloodlust that courses through his veins. He won’t become like that. Not one of those unthinking monsters. 

Sunghoon breaks free from his grasp when they make it to the front door. 

Jake is used to the gothic architecture of the place, but he hears the almost imperceptible sound of Sunghoon’s sharp inhale at the inside of the manor. Jake remembers when he first arrived. Newly turned and ravenous. 

But there’s almost something deceptively comforting in the structure of the old house. Maybe it comes with those who inhabit it. Or the gradual collection of ancient relics and antique furniture. 

Heeseung stands at the foot of the grand staircase in the center of the entrance hall. He watches Sunghoon closely as they cross the floor, narrowing his eyes when he strays too far from Jake’s side. 

It serves as a reminder. Sunghoon is only alive because of Jake’s intervention. 

“Hurry up.” Heeseung says. And Jake recognises the hesitance in his voice for what it is. Not frustration, but  _ fear. _ Heeseung has no idea how Jungwon will respond to a wolf on his home territory. 

Sunghoon pulls himself up the stairs, clinging to the handrail as though his life depended on it. He literally growls at Jake when he offers his help again. Jake resigns himself to walking a step behind. If Sunghoon is afraid, he’s doing an awfully good job at hiding it. 

Or perhaps he isn’t. His shoulders are tense, and everytime he lifts a hand to shift it along the handrail, Jake can see the way it shakes momentarily. 

It’s dark inside, the thick glass panels covering the windows are tinted to keep most of the sun out, but enough to keep the house brighter during the day without wasting thousands on electricity bills. 

Jungwon is practical like that.

*

They make it to the top, and follow Heeseung down the narrow hallway that leads to Jungwon’s quarters. Heeseung knocks three times on the door, and it swings open with a rattly creaking sound. Sunghoon stares at it hesitantly before realising that they’re expecting him to go in first. 

“God, you reek of them all,” an unseen voice says when he takes a first step over the threshold. Sunghoon realises quickly that he is alone. That the plan was never to follow him in. 

He supposes there isn’t much they can do. He’s heard tales of coven leaders who made a point of drinking the blood of coven members who refused to cooperate. 

The man standing before him is small, dressed formally in a suit and tie. Sunghoon almost laughs when he realises that  _ this _ is their leader. The man Jake had been so afraid of. But there’s something biting in his eyes that Sunghoon recognises. 

He tips his head in acknowledgement, not daring to take a single step closer to the one person at this moment who could offer him any sort of protection. 

The man  _ —Jungwon _ , he remembers— steps towards him though, head slightly tilted, lips parted. “You should be fully turned. You  _ smell _ like a damn wolf.” His eyes flick down to the battered flesh on the ankle Sunghoon’s favouring. 

Something sharp crosses his expression, “The wound is stopping you.” It isn’t a question, “Why?”

Sunghoon shrugs, playing nice seems like his best option here, unless he wants to be tossed back in the forest in the state he’s in. “It’s worse in that form, I suppose. But I promise it isn’t a choosing sort of situation. I physically can’t switch back.” 

Jungwon hums quietly. He steps around Sunghoon in an odd circling motion, rubs a thoughtful thumb over his own bottom lip as he surveys the situation. 

Eventually, Jungwon steps away from him. He casts his eyes towards one of the many bookshelves in the room instead. “You can stay. At least until you are well enough to go back.” He says waving a hand almost dismissively. And then, after a moment's consideration, he rounds on Sunghoon, a callous sort of fire lights in his eyes as he speaks firmly, “But if you lay a finger on anyone in my coven,  _ anyone _ , I will not hesitate to drain all the blood from your body and drop you like a stone.”

Sunghoon feels a little speechless. His mouth hangs slightly open as he stares back at the small man before him. Sure, Sunghoon was physically larger, but the intensity Jungwon radiates is simply unparalleled.

When he says nothing, Jungwon narrows his eyes at him, “Are we clear,  _ Wolf? _ ”

“Crystal.” Sunghoon whispers, waiting until Jungwon had turned his back on him before quickly moving for the door and bursting through it. 

He manages to play it cool when he sees Heeseung and Jake in the same places he’d left them, matching pinched expressions on their faces that sloughed off like water when he emerged unscathed. 

“Oh thank god,” Heeseung says, relieved, “It’s always such a pain to clean up when he kills people in there.”

Sunghoon glares at him, schooling his face into anger rather than the momentary fear that ran through his veins. 

Jake had moved to stand directly beside him in the short time he’d been focused on Heeseung, and Sunghoon nearly jumps out of his skin when he pokes him in the side. 

“I can help you with your leg, if you like.”

Sunghoon still couldn’t quite understand why Jake was still making such an effort to be nice to him, and he still wasn’t entirely sure he trusted the guy at all. But there was a cool breeze blowing through that irritated the exposed flesh of his ankle, and it was becoming tiring to put all the weight on his one good leg. 

He nods, and Jake says nothing as he turns away and leads him down yet another narrow corridor. This time though, he doesn’t offer his help, and Sunghoon is left hobbling behind him. When he turns to thank Heeseung for his help, the man is nowhere to be seen, and Sunghoon can’t fight the shudder that shakes through his body.

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/thekeehorse)  
> • [cc](https://curiouscat.me/ghoulhwa)  
> 


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